The Profile of patients with injuries due to alleged physical assault seen at the casualty department of Schweizer - Reneke District Hospital, North West Province, South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Aim:

The aim of the study was to establish the profile of patients due to alleged physical

assault seen at the casualty department of Schweizer-Reneke District hospital.

Objectives:

To determine the characteristics of patients with injuries due to alleged physical

assaults.

To document the pattern of injuries due to alleged physical assaults presented at the

casualty department of Schweizer-Reneke District Hospital.

To determine the circumstances that influenced the alleged physical assaults on

these patients.

Design: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of victims of alleged physical

assault.

Setting: Schweizer Reneke District Hospital, located in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati

Health District, in the North West Province of South Africa.

Participants: Sixty-four (64) consenting patients, who presented at the casualty of

Schweizer-Reneke District Hospital with injuries due to alleged physical assault, from the

1 st of March 2010 to the 31 st of August 2010, formed the sample.

Results:

The main findings were:

The majority of the victims were males (78%), with a mean age of 31 years. Fifty per

cent of the injuries were inflicted on the head, in both male and female victims.